Touch screen system and navigation and programming methods for an infusion pump

ABSTRACT

A medical pump system includes an input device for entering a command or a value of a pump programming parameter and a memory for storing a programming code. A processor is in communication with the memory and the input device in order to generate a display signal for an output device to generate one of a plurality of screens, such as near view and far view screens. The programming code is operable to display on a far view screen a plurality of medical therapy buttons that can be used to navigate directly to a near view programming screen. The far view screen can also concurrently display quick titration buttons that are associated with the medical therapy buttons and can be used to navigate directly to a quick titration screen without having to go to a general near view delivery screen or near view programming screen.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/959,330 filed Dec. 18, 2007, which claims the benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/103,235 filed Apr. 11, 2005; and acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/337,588filed Dec. 17, 2008, which claimed priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/014,677 filed on Dec. 18, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to medical devices. More specifically, theinvention relates to infusion pumps that include touch screen graphicaluser interfaces.

Graphical user interfaces for medical devices that display patient andtreatment information have improved clinician efficiency when caring forpatients. However, a challenge for designing graphical user interfacesis the need to balance the amount of information displayed on any onescreen viewable by the clinician with the need to create a device thatis easy to read and navigate. Too often the user is presented with anoverwhelming amount of information, impeding the interaction between theuser and the user interface.

Additionally, medical devices, including medical pumps, can becomplicated and time-consuming for caregivers to program. The need foran improved graphical interface is critical to maintain efficiency ofpatient care and to reduce potential clinical errors and thereby improvepatient safety. Device interfaces that increase input efficiency andaccuracy are critical to improve patient safety and therapy.

Graphical user interface design must also take into account strictdesign parameters as well as safety parameters. As a result, manymedical devices do not provide flexibility in programming parameters,neither for the administrator nor for the clinician.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a medical device that includesa graphical user interface that is easier to navigate, that allows foreasier programming of the medical device and that increases efficiencyand accuracy of the clinician programming and navigation.

Typically, medical pump systems or medication management systems presenttwo types of screens; a far view screen that is often considered adefault screen that is presented when the system is not being activelyprogrammed and a near view screen that is provided when data is beingentered into the touch screen. Thus, the near view screen generallypresents buttons, fields, and keys that are related to selecting,programming, confirming, starting and stopping a particular infusiontherapy. The near view screen provides the user with the means andopportunity to enter the necessary medical data to program the pump todeliver a medical therapy or infusion. Until recently, the far viewscreen on the other hand has been used merely to indicate an idle orwaiting status of the pump or to display in larger text size the statusof an on-going infusion therapy. U.S. Patent Publication No.2009/0183105, a parent of the present application and incorporated inits entirety herein presents and claims the use of a far view screenthat utilizes a titration button on the far view screen so that a userquickly gets into and navigates directly to a near view screen, or dataentry screen that is associated with the quick titration. However,problems remain. When other data needs to be entered into a near viewscreen time is wasted going from the far view screen to the near viewscreen. Specifically, one must still touch the titration button or toucha tab or another spot on the far view screen or go through the menu sothat the near view screen can be accessed to start or stop the pump orenter medical data to program the pump.

Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to provide amedical pump system that has improved programming speed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a medical pumpsystem that allows more efficient work flow for a clinician.

These and other objects, features or advantages will become apparentfrom the specification and claims.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The medical pump system of this invention has an input device forentering a command or a value of a pump programming parameter. Thesystem additionally has a memory for storing programming code. Aprocessor is in communication with the memory and the input device togenerate a display signal. An output device is in communication with theprocessor and receives the display signal to generate one of a pluralityof screens including near view and far view screens. Specifically, theprogramming code is operable to display a far view screen that has aplurality of buttons that can be used to navigate directly to atitration screen. Other timesaving or useful features and navigation orprogramming methods are also disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a medical device according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a screen shot of a near view delivery screen of a medicaldevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a near view programming screen that can beused to initially program a basic therapy according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a far view screen in a first (idle orunprogrammed) condition of a medical device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a screen shot a far view delivery screen in a second(programmed and/or delivering) condition of a medical device;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot showing a near view programming or titrationscreen that is displayed when one the quick titration buttons on the farview delivery screen of FIG. 5 is selected or pressed;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot showing a near view programming screen that isdisplayed after a numerical value has been selected for input using thekeypad;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot showing a near view programming screen that isdisplayed when the Enter button on FIG. 7 is selected or pressed;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot showing a near view confirmation screen that isdisplayed when the Next button on FIG. 8 is selected or pressed;

FIG. 10 is a screen shot showing a large scale graph of a distalpressure trend displayed by a pump according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot showing a new patient screen of the presentinvention in a first condition;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot showing the new patient screen of the presentinvention in a second condition; and

FIG. 13 is a screen shot similar to FIG. 5 but shows a far view screenthat displays information about an advanced infusion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be described as it applies to its preferredembodiment. It is not intended that the present invention be limited tothe preferred embodiment. It is intended that the invention cover allmodifications and alternatives that may be included within the scope ofthe appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system that has a medical device 10therein. FIG. 1 illustrates several functional components of the medicaldevice 10 for implementing the present invention. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the device 10 includes many morecomponents than those shown in FIG. 1. However, it is not necessary thatall these components be shown in order to disclose an illustrativeembodiment for practicing the present invention.

In the context of the present invention, the term “medical device”includes without limitation a device that acts upon a cassette,reservoir, vial, syringe, or tubing to convey medication or fluid to orfrom a patient (for example, an enteral pump, a parenteral infusionpump, a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) or pain management medicationpump, or a suction pump), a monitor for monitoring patient vital signsor other parameters, a diagnostic device, or the like.

For the purpose of exemplary illustration only, the medical device 10 isdisclosed as an infusion pump. More particularly, the medical device 10can be a single channel infusion pump, a multi-channel infusion pump, orsome combination thereof.

The following definitions are not intended to be limiting, but areincluded below to aid one skilled in the art in understanding thisdisclosure.

“Patient medical information” as used herein means information about apatient, including but not limited to weight, height, body surface area(BSA), known drug allergies or tolerances or permissible levels, name,or patient ID. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the programmablemedical pump art from the description herein that patient medicalinformation can be input and stored at the pump using the input device,received by the pump from a computer or storage device connectedwirelessly or by hard wire to the pump, or received as part of a druglibrary by the pump from a computer or storage device connectedwirelessly or by hard wire to the pump.

“Medication information” as used herein means information about themedication to be administered to a patient, including but not limited todrug name, drug alias, drug ID, drug trademark, drug generic name,concentration, drug amount, drug units, container volume, or dosingunits.

“Pump operating parameters” as used herein means input parameters orinformation that affects the behavior of a pump and delivery ofmedication by it, including but not limited to dose, dosage, dose rate,dose amount, rate, time, volume infused or volume to be infused (VTBI).

“Pump programming parameters” as used herein broadly includes parametersthat are programmed into a pump by the user or otherwise and may includeone or more of pump operating parameters, medication information,patient medical information or calculations based thereon orcombinations thereof. Pump programming parameters may have hard and/orsoft limits applied to them through a factory or hospital customizabledrug library that is resident in the device or electronicallydownloadable thereinto.

“Medical device capabilities” as used herein means capabilities orlimitations on a pump or infuser as determined by the manufacturer'srecommendations, hardware, software, administration set,primary/secondary line considerations, or other constraints. In oneexample, the infuser may have a minimum and/or maximum rate at which itcan deliver. In another example, primary and secondary lines may havepredetermined interrelated maximums so as to avoid creating any vacuumor inadvertent flow problems. By way of example only, the primary linemaximum rate could be 1000 ml/hr while the secondary line rate could belimited to a maximum of 500 ml/hr.

With reference to FIG. 1 the medical device 10 includes a processor 12that performs various operations described in greater detail below. Aninput/output device 14 allows the user to receive output from themedical device 10 and/or enter information into the medical device 10.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that input/outputdevice 14 may be provided as single devices such as a separate inputdevice 16 and an output device 18 that in one embodiment is a displaydevice such as an output screen and in another embodiment is a voicecommand that states ranges or outputs. In another embodiment theinput/output device 14 is a touch screen that serves both as the inputdevice 16 and as a visual display or screen for the output device 18.

In an alternative embodiment the medical device is a medicationmanagement system (MMS) and the input/output device 14 is a drug libraryeditor as described in U.S. Publication No. 2005/0144043 and thatreference is incorporated in full in this application. In thisembodiment input device 16 communicates with a MMU (MedicationManagement Unit) to assist in processing drug orders for deliverythrough the MMU. The input device 16 can be any sort of data inputmeans, including those adapted to read machine readable indicia such asbarcode labels; for example a personal digital assistant (PDA) with abarcode scanner. Alternatively, the machine readable indicia may be inother known forms, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tag,two-dimensional bar code, ID matrix, transmitted radio ID code, humanbiometric data such as fingerprints, etc. and the input device 16adapted to “read” or recognize such indicia. The input device 16 can bea separate device from the medical device 10; alternatively, the inputdevice 16 communicates directly with the medical device 10 or may beintegrated wholly or in part with the medical device.

A memory 24 communicates with the processor 12 and stores code and datanecessary for the processor 12 to perform the functions of the medicaldevice 10. More specifically, the memory 24 stores multiple programs andprocesses formed in accordance with the present invention for variousfunctions of the medical device 10.

Referring to FIGS. 2-12 various screen shots of the input/output device14 are displayed to a user of a medical device 10. As described herein,the input/output device 14 is in the context of an infusion pump;however, this is for exemplary purposes only. Other instruments mayincorporate aspects of the invention and generate audio output orpresent a graphic display to communicate data.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the input/output device 14 as part of its inputdevice functionality provides a near view initial programming screen150A with several entry points or fields wherein patient medicalinformation 100, medication information 101 and pump programmingparameters 102 may be entered. Specifically, patient medical information100 such as a patient's weight 104, height (not shown) or BSA (bodysurface area) 108 may be entered. Medication information such as thename and concentration of a medication may be entered or selected from adrop down menu based upon a predetermined user customized drug library.Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, pump operating parameters102 such as dose 110, rate 112, volume (infused or VTBI (volume to beinfused)) 114, time 116 and dose amount (not shown) may be entered usinga numerical key pad 120 that pops up when a particular field is touchedand allows input of numerals 124 on the key pad 120. The key pad 120additionally has a CANCEL button 126 if a user desires to exit andreturn to the previous screen without saving or entering information, aCLEAR button 128 to clear an input and an ENTER button 130 to enter aninput. Thus, a numerical value can be given using the key pad 120 toprovide a numerical value for the height, weight or BSA of the patientor the dose rate, dose amount, rate, volume infused or VTBI, or time orduration of the infusion.

Additionally, on the input/output device 14 as part of its output devicefunctionality displays a text box 134 wherein a message 136 can beprovided to the user regarding the data to be entered or the entereddata provided. Specifically, the text box 134 can provide whether theentered pump programming parameters are proper. The text box 134 canalso provide the user advance guidance on the valid range of values thatcan be entered, or whether a valid range exists.

The message 136 provided depends upon the data entered or to be enteredinto the medical device 10. For example, the message can indicate thatan invalid program parameter combination is entered. This indicates to auser that for the parameters selected there is no valid range that canbe calculated. Alternatively, if a valid range exists, this valid rangeis displayed. Whereas if the data point entered is invalid the message136 indicates an invalid value has been entered.

A MAIN MENU button 137 is presented or displayed on the near viewscreens 150-150E. When a user touches this button the processor 12causes the input/output device 14 to display or return to the main menufar view screens of FIG. 4 or 5. If the pump is already programmedand/or executing an infusion or fluid delivery program when the usertouches the MAIN MENU button 137, the processor will return the user tothe far view screen of FIG. 5. If the pump is idle or not yetprogrammed, the processor 12 will display the far view screen of FIG. 4when the user touches the MAIN MENU button 137.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show screen shots on the input/output device 14 that areconsidered near view screens 150, 150A. As discussed in the Backgroundthe near view screen allows viewing and entry of a full compliment ofmedical data and is generally used to access more detailed informationor programming screens to program the medical device 10. Medical dataincluding patient medical information 100, medication information 101,and pump programming parameters 102 are entered and displayed on thenear view screens 150. FIGS. 4 and 5 meanwhile represent far viewscreens 152, 152A, each of which may constitute a default or main menuscreen. Specifically for example, the processor 12 of the medical device10 can be factory set or programmed or configured by a user, biomedicalengineer, pharmacist or other hospital personnel such that when apredetermined amount of time passes and information has not been enteredinto the near view screen 150 the near view screen 150 times out inorder to display the far view screen 152 for better viewing from acrossa room and/or to reduce power consumption by allowing backlighting ofthe touch screen input/output device 14 to be reduced when an individualis not actively programming the device. Referring to FIG. 2, a STOPBASIC button 202 is displayed on the near view delivery screen 150. TheSTOP BASIC button 202 terminates the basic therapy when the button ispressed by the user.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the far view screen 152, 152A of thepresent invention presents a plurality of medical therapy buttons 154including but not limited to a BASIC button 156, a BOLUS button 158, aPIGGYBACK button 160, and an ADVANCED button 162. The therapy buttons154 are arranged on a common widget on one portion of the screen, forexample a side, in order of most frequent use for a general purposeinfusion pump. In one embodiment, the buttons 154 are arranged BASICbutton 156, BOLUS button 158, PIGGYBACK button 160, and then ADVANCEDbutton 162 from top to bottom. Since their placement on the screen 152,152A is software driven, the therapy buttons 154 could be arranged inother ways, including but not limited to alphabetically by initialletter, left to right for left to right language reading countries,right to left for right to left language reading countries. All of thiscould be set in a fixed manner by the manufacturer or made configurableor user customizable via one or more settings in the pump or in a druglibrary downloaded to the pump.

The far view screen 152, 152A also presents therapy start/stop buttons163 that include a START button 164 and a STOP button 166 to start orhalt a therapy respectively. Although they could be presented ordisplayed on the same widget as the therapy buttons 154, in theexemplary embodiment shown the start/stop buttons 163 are displayed orpresented concurrently on a separate widget on a portion of the screen152, 152A adjacent to the therapy buttons 154. In one embodiment theprocessor 12 displays the start/stop buttons 163 on a portion of thescreen directly below the therapy buttons 154. Presenting the STARTbutton 164 and the STOP button 166 together, adjacent to, or in closeproximity to each other on the same far view screen 152, 152A saves theuser time when starting or stopping the therapy. Previously, displayedstart and stop buttons appeared on different screens that requiredadditional touches to navigate between. An emergency stop button wasalso previously provided remote from the display screen of theinput/output device 14, but activating it caused other undesirableemergency responses from the pump, including an audible and/or visualnurse call alarm in addition to merely stopping the therapy. These otherresponses could disturb a resting patient or annoy a caregiver trying tostop or pause therapy. In the present invention, when the user touchesthe STOP button 166, a status/suggestion banner similar to 901 (FIG. 9)is displayed on the screen with a message like “STOPPED BASIC”, but noaudible alarm is generated and the user is not presented with ortransitioned to a new screen. The START button 164 is thus immediatelyavailable to restart the therapy from the same screen if desired.

In addition, in one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, when the pump isdelivering or operational and the user touches the BASIC button 156, thefar view screen 152A can concurrently provide or display current pumpoperating information for the therapy such as dose 110, rate 112 andvolume (infused or volume to be infused (VTBI)) 114 information for aviewer. In the embodiment shown, the current pump operating informationis displayed on the same widget as the stop/start buttons 163 and in aside by side relationship with the therapy buttons 154. A pointer 168 isoptionally provided to point to the particular therapy button 156, 158,160, or 162 to which the displayed current pump operating informationapplies or is associated with.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the processor 12 presents a farview or main menu screen 152, 152A most of the time, unless the user isactively programming the pump. The programming code of the processor 12is operable to display a far view screen 152, 152A that has a pluralityof medical therapy buttons 154. In one embodiment, when the user touchesor presses one of the medical therapy buttons 154, such as 156, 158, 160or 162, the programming code causes the processor 12 to display thecorresponding current pump operating information for that therapy on thesame screen. Quick titration buttons 170 for DOSE, 172 for RATE and 174for VOLUME (infused) or VTBI are presented as part of or adjacent to thecorresponding operating information. Thus, while viewing the currentoperating information, the clinician is able to complete the steps ofchoosing a therapy and a titration parameter to adjust or programwithout having to go to a different screen. When touched, the quicktitration buttons 170, 172, 174 navigate the clinician directly to anear view titration screen 150B such as shown in FIG. 6. Specifically,when a button such as the BASIC button 156 is touched a clinician maydirectly input medical information without the need to go through ageneral near view delivery screen 150, a menu or be presented with avastly different appearing screen because the near view titration screen150B is navigated to directly from the far view delivery screen 152A.

In another embodiment, when the user touches or presses one of themedical therapy buttons 154 on FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, such as 156, 158, 160or 162, the programming code causes the processor 12 to immediatelydisplay a near view programming screen. For example, when the userpresses the BASIC therapy button 156, the basic therapy programming nearview screen 150A of FIG. 3 is displayed. If the user touches one of theother therapy buttons, another near view programming screen appropriatefor that therapy is displayed. For example, when the user touches theADVANCED therapy button 162, an advanced therapy near view programmingscreen is displayed. Alternatively, if the pump is in a delivering orprogrammed condition and the far view delivery screen 152A of FIG. 5 isdisplayed, the user can instead select or press one of the quicktitration buttons 170, 172, 174 to immediately navigate directly to anear view titration screen such as 150B of FIG. 6.

As best understood in view of FIGS. 3-9, once the clinician selects aparticular parameter to program or adjust and is presented with the nearview titration screen 150B and the numerical key pad 120 shown in FIG.6, they can enter a desired numeric value for the particular pumpoperating parameter selected. In the example illustrated by FIG. 7, theuser has touched the appropriate numeral keys 124 on the key pad 120 totype the numeral “57” in the field for dose 110. When the clinicianpresses the ENTER button 130 in FIG. 7, the processor 12 saves or entersthe numerical value and recalculates any related parameters as shown inthe near view screen 150C of FIG. 8. The processor 12 displays the nearview confirmation screen 150D of FIG. 9 when the user presses the NEXTbutton 802 in FIG. 8 to continue. Otherwise the clinician can pressother fields 112, 114, 166, etc. to edit those parameters, delete allentries with the CLEAR button 128, press the OPTIONS button 804 to editpump settings like alarm thresholds for air-in-line, distal occlusionpressure, proximal occlusion pressure, and nearing end of infusion orpriming rate, KVO rate, and end of infusion alarm, or cancel thetitration with the CANCEL TITRATION button 806.

The processor 12 displays a status/suggestion banner 901 near the top ofthe near view confirmation screen 150D of FIG. 9 to remind the clinicianof an action that is suggested or advise them of a status of the pump.After reviewing the programming information on the near viewconfirmation screen 150D of FIG. 9 as suggested by the banner 901, ifthe parameters are acceptable, the user typically presses a start buttonsuch as the START BASIC button 902 to immediately start the infusion asprogrammed. Otherwise, the clinician can press a DELAYED START button904 to start a countdown timer to delay the start of the infusion by apredetermined or configurable amount of time. The user can also touch anEDIT button 906 to return directly to the screen of FIG. 3 for basictherapy for example (other therapies have similar detailed near viewprogramming screens). Alternatively it is contemplated that the EDITbutton 906 could be programmed to take the user to one of FIG. 4 or FIG.5 to view and change the current therapy and/or program if desired. TheEDIT button 906 is a new addition to the near view screens and providesan improvement over the previous more indirect circular, linear orserial progression form of navigation between the confirmation screenand the programming screen of FIG. 3. The clinician can also touch theMAIN MENU button 137 to return to the screen of FIG. 4 or 5 to select adifferent therapy and/or parameter and begin the programming or programmodification process all over again.

Another aspect of the present invention is a graphical distal pressurebutton 204, which in the embodiment shown is displayed to the user onthe near view delivery screen 150 but could be displayed on other nearview or far view screens. The distal pressure button 204 includes on thebutton itself a relatively small scale, abbreviated time versus pressuregraph of the most recent actual history of distal pressure recorded bythe pump 10 over a first predetermined short period of time. By way ofexample and not limitation, the time period can be factory determined oruser customizable via pump settings or a drug library to be 10, 20, 30or 60 seconds. The distal pressure button 204 serves multiple functions.It intuitively provides the user with an indication of the type of datathat is accessible by the button, while displaying a recent history orsnapshot of the data in question, which allows the user to monitor forany problems with the data and delve deeper if needed. The clinician cantouch the distal pressure button 204 in FIG. 9, especially if they viewa possible abnormality on the abbreviated graph, and the processor 12will display a distal pressure screen 1002 such as shown on the screen150E in FIG. 10. The distal pressure screen 1002 includes a graph 1004of distal pressure that is larger than the graph on the button 204 andgraphically depicts distal pressure over a second greater period of timeso as to provide a larger, longer graph of distal pressure trend.Similar to the graph on the button 204, the time period for the distalpressure trend graph 1004 shown in FIG. 10 can be factory determined oruser customizable via pump settings or a drug library. By way of exampleand not limitation, the time period for the larger, more detailed trendgraph can be 5, 10, 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes.

On both the thumbnail graph on the distal pressure button 204 and thelarger distal pressure graph 1004 on the trend display 1002, colorcoding can be provided to show an alarm threshold pressure in a firstcolor, such as red, for example, and the current pressure in a differentor second color, such as blue, for example. Further legends, keys andlabeling can also be provided, especially on the larger trend display1002. On the screen 150E of FIG. 10, a CLOSE button 1006 is displayedfor the clinician to touch to return to the near view delivery screen150 of FIG. 2. Optionally, a MAIN MENU button 137 is displayed and canbe made active or available for the clinician to touch to return to thefar view delivery screen 152A of FIG. 5. The trend display conceptdescribed above can be applied to the display of other information onthe pump, including but not limited to patient vital signs (heart rate,blood pressure, respiration rate, CO2, SpO2, temperature, etc.), labvalues (glucose, aPTT, etc.), and other pump operating information(air-in-line, temperature, noise, vibration, battery energy used orremaining, etc.).

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the invention provides an improvednew patient near view screen 150F, 150G that includes NEW PATIENT andCLEAR SHIFT TOTALS buttons 1102 and 1104 respectively that maintain afixed position on the screen 150 but toggle their text and correspondingfunction/response when touched by a user to display one selection from aplurality of different selections. In the example shown, the selectioncan be YES or NO. When a button 1102 or 1104 displaying the selectionYES is touched by the user, the selection displayed is changed by theprocessor 12 to NO, and vice versa. To lock in and enter the displayedselection, the user presses a CONTINUE button 1106 on the touch screen.A VIEW PATIENT INFO button 1108 is displayed to allow the user to checkor view the information the patient information the pump currently hasstored. Each of the toggling buttons 1102 and 1104 takes far less spaceand time than a drop-down menu or list that must be scrolled through.Thus, the button can be enlarged for easier viewing and more reliableactivation. The processor can also be programmed or configured to showthe most likely selection based on pump or therapy status. For example,if the pump has not reached the end of a therapy or has not been shutoff for a predetermined period of time, the NEW PATIENT button 1102might be configured to display the selection NO, whereas if the pump hasbeen powered off or the therapy ended more than a predetermined periodof time ago the button 1102 might display YES.

Referring to FIG. 13, a far view screen 150H is displayed that providesinformation about an advanced infusion. In the illustrated example, theadvanced infusion is a multistep infusion, more particularly a two stepinfusion. The nature and status of the advanced infusion isadvantageously indicated for the user on the far view screen by a statusmessage 901, which saves the user the step of going to other screens tofind this information.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art from the descriptionabove, the present invention provides a number of timesavingimprovements related to using and programming a medical device such asan infusion pump. By having the plurality of medical therapy buttons 154and the quick titration buttons 170, 172, 174 on the far view screen152A a clinician may quickly access a near view titration screen 150B bypressing one of the plurality of medical therapy buttons 154 and thedesired quick titration button 170, 172, 174 in order to immediatelystart inputting information without additional button pressing, goingthrough multiple other screens, buttons, tabs, menu items or the like.Each time a completely new screen is presented to the user, the usermust cognitively process and peruse it briefly to understand theinformation presented. This process is mentally taxing and takes timefor the user to complete. Thus, the pop-ups and combination of buttonsof the present invention that appear on the same screen, are quicker touse than drilling through a series of different screens. Thus, aclinician may efficiently program the pump 10 minimizing the amount ofscreens that need to be accessed and buttons 154 that need to be pressedin order to input data into the pump. Consequently, at the very leastall of the stated objectives have been met.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variousmodifications could be made to the device without departing from thescope of this invention. For example, it is contemplated that theoverlays or the pop-up keypad 120 and other features of FIGS. 6 and 7could incorporated into the far view screen of FIG. 5 so that even moreprogramming steps could be completed without leaving the far viewscreen. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of theclaims and are intended to be covered thereby.

1. A medical pump system comprising: an input device for entering one ofa command and a value of a pump programming parameter; a memory forstoring programming code; a processor in communication with the memoryand the input device being operable to execute the programming code and,in response to at least one of the programming code, the command, andthe value of the pump programming parameter, generate a display signal;an output device in communication with the processor to receive thedisplay signal and in response to the display signal generate one of aplurality of screens, the plurality of screens including a far viewscreen and a near view screen; wherein the programming code is operableto display on the far view screen a plurality of medical therapybuttons, at least one of the medical therapy buttons, when activated bya user, displaying one of a near view programming screen and a pluralityof quick titration buttons.
 2. The medical pump system of claim 1wherein the programming code is operable to display the plurality ofquick titration buttons on the far view screen concurrently with themedical therapy buttons.
 3. The medical pump system of claim 2 whereinthe programming code is operable to navigate directly to and display anear view titration screen when one of the quick titration buttons isactivated by the user.
 4. The medical pump system of claim 2 wherein theplurality of medical therapy buttons displayed on the far view screeninclude a BASIC button, a BOLUS button, a PIGGYBACK button and anADVANCED button.
 5. The medical pump system of claim 4 wherein the farview screen also concurrently displays current pump operatinginformation selected from a group consisting of dose, volume and rateinformation.
 6. The medical pump system of claim 1 wherein the far viewscreen concurrently displays a START button and a STOP button.
 7. Themedical pump system of claim 1 wherein the near view screen displays anEDIT button that, when activated by the user, causes the near viewprogramming screen to be displayed.
 8. The medical pump system of claim1 wherein the near view screen displays a MAIN MENU button that, whenactivated by the user, causes the far view screen to be displayed next.9. The medical pump system of claim 8 wherein the MAIN MENU button alsocauses the plurality of quick titration buttons to be displayed on thefar view screen.
 10. The medical pump system of claim 1 wherein one ofthe near view screen and the far view screen is operable to display adistal pressure button on which a first graph of distal pressure over afirst time period is depicted.
 11. The medical pump system of claim 10wherein upon being activated by the user the distal pressure button isoperable to cause display of a second graph of distal pressure in a sizethat is larger than the first graph.
 12. The medical pump system ofclaim 11 wherein the second graph depicts distal pressure over a secondtime period that is greater than the first time period.
 13. The medicalpump system of claim 1 wherein the memory stores constraints related tothe pump programming parameter and the processor is operable todetermine whether a valid input range for the pump programming parameterexists and generate a display signal to the output device to display amessage to the user regarding the existence of valid input range for apump programming parameter.
 14. The medical pump system of claim 1wherein one of the plurality of screens includes a fixed position buttonthat, when touched by the user, toggles text displayed on the fixedposition button and corresponding function/response to display oneselection of text and corresponding function/response from a pluralityof selections of text and corresponding function/response.
 15. A methodof programming a fluid delivery using a medical pump that has a touchscreen that can selectively display one of a far view screen and a nearview screen, the method comprising the steps of: displaying the far viewscreen if the touch screen is untouched by a user for a predeterminedperiod of time; and generating a display of a plurality of user touchselectable medical therapy buttons on the far view screen.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising generating a display of a nearview programming screen for input of pump programming parameters inresponse to the user touching one of the medical therapy buttons on thefar view screen.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising, if themedical pump is programmed for a fluid delivery, generating concurrentlywith the display of the plurality of user touch selectable medicaltherapy buttons a display of a plurality of user touch selectable quicktitration buttons on the far view screen.
 18. The method of claim 17further comprising, in response to the user selectively touching one ofthe quick titration buttons, generating as a next display screen,without an intervening display screen, a near view titration screen. 19.The method of claim 15 further comprising displaying a MAIN MENU buttonon the near view screen; the MAIN MENU button being operable to displaythe far view screen as a next screen, without displaying an interveningscreen, when touched by the user.
 20. The method of claim 15 furthercomprising displaying an EDIT button that, when activated by the user,immediately causes a near view programming screen to be displayed as anext screen without an intervening screen.